Okay, wrapping things up here (btw, these have not been in order of attendance):
A few key points from the “Need to Lead” program sponsored by the Urban Libraries Council and its Executive Leadership Initiative:
- ELI is based on action learning – learning is most effective when involved in a real-tim, actual project
- learning how to move their organizations forward
- important to take risks and learn from failures
- important to express one’s desire to become a leader or enter management
- 3 must-haves for leaders:
- passion for what they’re doing
- good judgment
- courage
- key: how do leaders deal with failure?
- self-realization is a key element of becoming a leader
- personal life and career-related
- knowing strengths and weaknesses
- keep your options open so you’re able to see all the opportunities for leadership, don’t think of just one department, one type of library, etc.
Okay, don’t have notes for two other programs I attended (monitored really), but here are some links. These two were probably the funniest, most entertaining presentations I went to, and both had some really good tips, too!
- Handling Upset Patrons: From the Irate to the Insane by the author of “Black Belt Librarians“
Also, wanted to mention that many of the handouts and slides from PLA 2008 are available online and the virtual conference includes a lot of good stuff, like virtual poster sessions and recorded versions of the most popular programs.
One more thing…the PLA blog has tons of great posts from a lot of people covering a lot of programs. If you didn’t get a chance to go to the conference in-person, or even if you did, it’s a great way to get a feel for what went on.